Cry
by Secret-Pass-Time
Summary: At the end of episode 20, what if it wasn't the teacher who was there for Pudding? What if it was a certain alien who appeared instead?


Big chocolate eyes slowly dragged themselves open to the sound of little feet and clattering, Pudding briefly wondered if this would be another incident where she'd have to clean the entire house. She could remember the many times she'd had to do it before, usually with a silly smile on her face. This time, though, she simply wasn't in the mood. She hadn't had such a day in a long time, of course she missed her mother and father terrible every moment, but this day she truly wished they were there with her. The slight blurring in her eyes told her it was time to get up and stop thinking of sad thoughts.

She stood, legs slightly shaky and made her her way to the door, all set to survey the damage caused by her siblings, but there they were, cleaning supplies in hand.

"Are you feeling better? You must stay in bed!" They chorused, Pudding only catching snippets of comments amongst the rabble of voices.

"From now on, we'll help!" one of her brothers said, looking with determination at Pudding.

"Back to bed!" HeiCha exclaimed, pointing at the door to Pudding's bedroom. Quite honestly, Pudding felt she'd like nothing less than to spend more time with no distractions, listening to the sounds of the house being torn apart from her bed, but the way her little sister had managed to summon such a firm gleam in her eyes made Pudding want to give them a chance. She stood a few minutes longer before she was forcible pushed into the room by a swarm of determined children assuring her they could look after themselves.

"What about dinner?!" Pudding asked, looking for some way to get out of hours more in her bed.

"Teacher fed us!" One of her brothers shouted, pushing at one of her legs. "And told us to make sure you took it easy!"

"I don't think this is a good idea..." Pudding told them but they managed to push her to her bed.

"You're face is still red!" She looked down at her sibling and they stared back up at her until she relented, weak legs pushed to their limit collapsing to leave her sat on her bed. They said a few more things which Pudding didn't even attempt to decipher, then left, closing the door.

Pudding could remember when her mother would always walk in at times like this with a bowl of soup and words of sympathy. She remembered gentle hugs and protesting against being fed, pushing the blankets away then having them put over her again and being tucked in tight. A tear rolled it's way down her cheek and a little gasp was heard, a stifled sob. Another tear, another gasp. She lay down in her bed, facing towards the wall, rubbing at her eyes.

'Stop it, what would my siblings think if they saw me like this? No. Stay strong.' She thought to herself, chastising herself for being so childish. She tried a smile but it became a grimace before leaving her face altogether. She sighed, refusing to allow any more tears to escape as she closed her eyes. An odd sound rang through the room and immediately Pudding knew what it was. She rolled onto her other side to see what he could possibly want.

"Taru-taru? What are you doing here?" A little pang of anger scorched her as he appeared, looking so innocent after doing such a thing as hurting such a kind woman.

"I told you not to call me-" He looked puzzled for a moment. "What's up with your eyes?" One eyebrow raised, he pointed at her. She lifted one hand and rubbed it along the bottom of her eye, stroking away another stray tear.

"Nothing, Taru-taru! Pudding is fine!" He didn't look convinced.

"You were crying." He stated, coming to the sudden realisation. Her lower lip trembled a little before she covered her eyes and rolled to face the other way. More little gasps escaped with the fresh tears.

"Pudding is fine." She gasped out, eager to be left alone.

Ignoring his instinct, Taruto floated forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. He knew what he wanted to say but he couldn't quite find the words. He wanted to tell her to cheer up, he wanted to fight again, he wanted to see her jump around in a way that acrobats could only dream of. He didn't like this, the tears and the sobs. Quite honestly, it frightened him. He had often said he'd never give up until he saw her cry, but now he was finally faced with it, he decided this wasn't what he wanted any more. He told himself it was because he hadn't been the one to make her cry.

The little hand startled Pudding, this wasn't something her Taru-taru did. She'd expected for him to laugh and tease her. She'd have forgiven him though. It was just his personality.

"What's the matter with you?" His voice wasn't caring exactly, but it was comforting for her. To have someone there with her. She shook her head, refusing to tell him.

"It doesn't matter, Taru-taru. Pudding is fine!" She turned to him, a little smile on her face. Suddenly, she jumped up from her bed and hugged him, being shoved away after a matter of nano seconds.

"Stop calling me that!"


End file.
